Never thought I’d see a 1100 squarefoot mobile home generate a 140 dollar electric bill between heating and cooling seasons (you know... the 3 or 4 weeks between Minnesotas two seasons. To flipping hot and to flipping cold)
But we did!
And I just replaced all of our 15+ year old electric appliances save the water heater. That is going gas.
Honestly with a 25 dollar gas bill I wonder if a natural gas genset would not be cheaper to run.
Be happy that you do not live in AZ
It’s an arithmetic problem & you have to factor in the cost of the generator. Utilities have information about making such calculations for all appliances.
I just looked it up: Minnesota generators 59% of its electricity with coal. If Obama is re-elected, I’d make sure I had some sort of >wood burning stove for heat.
It’s possible to live through hot weather in Minnesota without air conditioning. But it’s impossible to make through a cold Minnesota winter without heat, unless you hibernate like a bear.
Modern heaters using natural-gas ALSO require electricity to operate. Obama is working to destroy energy production in the USA. Plan for the worse.
There are products for a ‘cool roof’ or solar heat reflective paint. Do your >research; solar-reflective-paint on your mobile home can act like a big shade tree & help keep your mobile home cool.
(There are bogus products being sold now that do NOT work quite the way you would want them to work. For example: some folks put an ‘insulating paint’ on their roof when they have an open attic. The roof keeps off the rain. To put ‘insulating paint on such a roof would be like putting ‘insulating paint’ on an umbrella & expecting it to help keep you warm. Such paint if it reflects heat will help in that regards but not with insulating.)
The radiant heat from the sun would be reflected off the mobile home by a solar reflective paint. It’s sort of like standing under a shade tree on a 100 degree day. It’s still very hot under the tree but it’s not as bad as standing in direct sunlight. (In the winter the ‘warm sun heat’ is also reflected but usually there is NOT that much heating done by the sun in wintertime Minnesota.)
Also, use water to keep cool if there is a power outage. Just putting your feet in a tub of water for 1/2 hour will cool down your entire body.
Down south, folks go & ‘beat their feet on the Mississippi River mud’ to keep cool on a hot humid day. At least in the old-songs.
Look up ‘solar porches’ they can help create a warm spot in the winter. I actually lived in an old ‘shack’ that had a homemade solar porch; it worked just fine. But I live where there be cactus, sticker bushes & tumble-weeds that do be tumbling.
Mobile homes are not very efficient to heat or cool due to poor insulation.
What is your electric cost per kwh ?
We live in the woods. No central heat or air. In the winter we have a fireplace insert for heat. Our electric bill is $198.00 a month! Of course we live in California, but still!
You should see our electric bills in NC....in the counties that are stuck with “electricities”. Apparently we are paying for bad decisions made by our elected officials many years back. Just about all I know get bills upwards of $400 in the summer with most averaging around $500-$600 PER MONTH [and HIGHER]!
We just finished re-insulating our older home...spent big money putting extra fancy insulation in our attic, replaced all the vinyl on the house with new, PLUS insulation foam board, and new windows......I have ALL gas appliances...and my electic bill still tops over $300 per month! And that does NOT count the gas bill which is propane [no natural gas lines running out in the county where we live].
Btw, my house is about 1600 sq ft. I dont know what we will do if Obamas energy plans ever take effect? We have cut back everywhere we can, done all we can do to improve yet our bill is still too high [IMO]. :-(
You should see our electric bills in NC....in the counties that are stuck with “electricities”. Apparently we are paying for bad decisions made by our elected officials many years back. Just about all I know get bills upwards of $400 in the summer with most averaging around $500-$600 PER MONTH [and HIGHER]!
We just finished re-insulating our older home...spent big money putting extra fancy insulation in our attic, replaced all the vinyl on the house with new, PLUS insulation foam board, and new windows......I have ALL gas appliances...and my electic bill still tops over $300 per month! And that does NOT count the gas bill which is propane [no natural gas lines running out in the county where we live].
Btw, my house is about 1600 sq ft. I dont know what we will do if Obamas energy plans ever take effect? We have cut back everywhere we can, done all we can do to improve yet our bill is still too high [IMO]. :-(